MSNBC ED SHOW: IRAQ WAR GIANT SUCCESS…FOR WAR PROFITEERS

After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead, 32,000 wounded and more than $800 billion, U.S. officials yesterday formally shut down the war in Iraq — a conflict that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy.

Whether it was a success or a failure will be debated for years, if not decades. But one thing’s certain, according to filmmaker and activist Robert Greenwald and Derrick Crowe, Political Director at Brave New Foundation — the Iraq War was a giant success for war profiteers who made out like bandits while the rest of us were stuck with a multi-trillion dollar bill.

In their excellent article on Huff Post, Greenwald and Crowe call out Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), a former Haliburton subsidiary, which racked up 22 instances of misconduct, including sexual assault and retaliation and wrongful death.

Despite that dismal record, KBR’s CEO William P. Utt made $9.6 million in salary and other compensation last year, putting him squarely in the richest 0.01 percent of Americans.